KHAMMAM: When a woman clutches the baton to encourage girls and other women, progress is the only bounty in store. This is what Kori Sunanda from Yellandu in the Singareni coal belt area of Bhadradri Kothagudem district exemplifies when she trains tribal girls to be long jumpers and sprinters for 100m and 200m.
And what miracles these girls from the Government Tribal Model Sports School for Girls in Kachanapalli in Gundala mandal of Bhadradri district have done! Of the 80 students she has been training for over four years, 30 have clinched 42 gold, 41 silver and 27 bronze at the state and national levels.
But for students of such high calibre is a teacher who has her own bundle of victories; Sunanda said she has won 62 medals of all three colours for 100m, long jump and high jump, apart from being the only woman from Telangana who was selected for Level 3 of the World Athletics Coaches Education System in Indonesia and getting a chance to train national and international-level sportspersons. The best way to describe such an indomitable woman is that she is an absolute all-rounder.
Well, this has to be, as Sunanda comes from a hardcore sports family. Speaking to TNIE, Sunanda said, “Since childhood, the members of my family have had a tremendous influence on me as they are all strong and famous sportspersons in their own sports fields.”
Though Sunanda’s mother wasn’t into sports, her father Kori Sudarshan clinched the gold playing football at the state-level in 1984. One of her brothers, Sujith Kumar, serves in the Indian Army and is a basketball player while another brother, Sumeet Kumar, is a national-level football player.
A third brother, Suneeth Kumar, is a final-year degree student and basketball player. Clearly, sports courses through all the veins in this family’s bloodline! Inspired to say the least, a young Sunanda in Class 8 started playing basketball, later shifting tracks to focus on sprinting, long jump and high jump. “Ever since I was a little girl, my parents supported my ardent passion for sports. My alma mater, the Singareni Collieries High School, also supported my endeavours,” she cheerfully said.
And the selfless and driven coach that she is, Sunanda’s main goal is to make sure her girls reach the Olympics and snag medals for the country there.
Indeed, Sunanda’s journey and efforts are true exemplars of social upliftment, women’s empowerment and an indescribable determination.